Sunday, October 21, 2007

Death of the New Gods Spoilers (Big one)

I still think this is a trick, and that if it isn't it'll all be undone after the next crossover. These characters aren't ever really gone.

But still..

On the kitchen floor?

No signs of battle?

Katma Tui-style.

You killed that character on the fucking kitchen floor.

That character.

Okay, not only had this better be a trick, this had better be a trick undone next fucking issue because anything less than an immediate "there is no way she could possibly die like this so its obvious that the whole matter is a HOAX" is an insult and proves that somebody at DC clearly has their head up their ass.

11 comments:

For some reason, Death of the New Gods doesn't ruffle me at all. It's all so patently ridiculous that whatever happens, well ... it isn't happening.

But yes, the idea that that character wouldn't get a death scene is absurd. But I take it as one more sign that whatever's happening doesn't matter one bit. It's just moving pieces from point A to point B, so they can tell the story they really want to tell sometime down the line.

Depressing view? That certain creators are paying attention, and are now specifically killing off female characters in kitchens in order to piss off the segment of people they don't agree with/like.

Every year or two, I get interested in a few DC characters and start reading their books. Then I drop them one by one as the latest event sweeps through. At the moment I'm down to Blue Beetle, and have no illusion that his title will be spared.

I knew Barda was going to die, it is called Death of the New Gods after all, but I didn't expect to see her go out in the first issue and in the bloody kitchen! Barda should of went down in some ridiculous battle scene where the only reason she falls is because she sacrifices herself to save others. It just makes no sense for the character, who has always been a kick ass, strong, smart hero to meet her end like that. I'll certainly welcome her back when (not if) she returns, and just imagine this whole series never even happened.

I was going to comment on specifics, but on reflection I find the whole comic so stupid, pointless, and horribly flawed in both writing and art that there seems little point.

It doesn't matter how it turns out, artistically it's a lose/lose situation for DC, however much cash they make from it in the short term. Either they really are destroying a classic Kirby creation that's a cornerstone of their universe, which will piss off a lot of fans, or it's another big fake out, which will piss off a lot of fans.

Ragnell, I forget which fanboy blog I read which said "I suppose you femministz HATED it that Ms. Marvel died when she drove a missile into the heart of the sun at the cost of her life!" - But. He's. Wrong. Ms. Marvel sacrificed herself to Save the World, which is a noble endeavor for any hero - the most noble endeavor I can imagine, in fact. That is a good death, a just death - why, I could even call it a MANLY death! ;)

Big Barda showing up dead on the floor of her kitchen? That's a stupid, wasteful and pointless death of a powerful strong female character - and exactly what we're all talking about in the FIRST place,

Ragnell, I think this is one of the stupidest moments in comics storytelling ever. I'm not going to read this tripe... I'm with Rob, but maybe more extremely.

It's so stupid, such a horrifically bad idea there's no way it won't be undone as soon as possible. Especially if everyone raises a big fuss over it. Which is exactly what I hope will happen.

Timothy Liebe is right, too. Big Barda is the consummate warrior. She would never go down in such a ludicrous way. She'd only go down fighting for right. And before someone shouts, "We've seen that cliche before... this made her death more emotional because it points out the banality of evil" or some such...

Psshh. It does not. It's Big Barda. She doesn't go out like that. Ever.

Re: The banality of evil - sorry if I'm going off on a bizarre tangent in your comments, Ragnell! -

I HATE that argument. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! The LAST thing comic book evil should be is BANAL.

Yes, real world evil is banal. I DON'T READ COMICS FOR REAL WORLD GOOD N' EVIL. I want SUPERVILLIANY!

I love supervillians. If great heroes die, they should die at the hands of showy, ridiculous, over-the-top GENIUSES (Comic Genius, anyway!) doing brilliant evil deeds! Have a few thugs in the pages of comics playing hench-roles. Give us an evil businessman or two to show the "banality of evil" if you must.

I figured Barda would die in this series, so I consoled myself that I would at least get to see some all-out Barda action. I had hoped she'd be a major player and get a meaningful death. But no. She gets the fridge.

Of course, I have no idea where the story is going, so I don't know if they are just casting Barda in the "dead spouse" role or the "show how awesome the bad guy is" role, but either way it is a tremendous waste and a huge missed opportunity.

You know when I read that issue - being a long time fan of Starlin’s and picking it up - I have to say that it didn’t even register (Barda’s death).

Why?

Because this is comics and because I think Big Barda is one of those characters that is just too good to kill off. Didn’t they kill off Mister Miracle at some point? I don’t know...

It just seems to me that you can’t kill off such a good character.

Also, I’m getting the feeling that these things have less to do with any sexist agenda and more to do with making sure that any remote trace of those wonderful JLA/JLI books is removed from the DC universe.

I loved those books, they were exciting, funny, well-scripted with great dialogue and art but it seems there is no room for such entertainment anymore.

I mean run down the list... Blue Beetle, Sue Dibny, Maxwell Lord, Barda. I’m sure there are others.

It's been my feeling for years that DC can't write for any character for long without killing them. It's a real problem. Batman's going to "die" soon, and Superman famously died years ago. Hal Jordan, Wonder Woman, Robin, Flash, etc., etc. This is especially true for the female character, who usually only function as superheroes' girlfriends or wives. They die with alarming frequency and in spectacularly bloody, horrible ways too.

Over at Marvel, the women used to get raped all the time. We didn't see it, of course, but they alluded to it often enough. DC implied sexual assault, but the woman would be murdered as well; stuffed into a refrigerator or crucified onto a wall with arrows, or whatever misogynist fantasy their hack writing staff was hooked on that particular month.

This is a major reason I quit reading comic books a few years back. Frank Miller's Dark Knight Strikes Back was the final straw, and for different reasons, but the misogyny on display in the average superhero book made me heartsick, and it showed no signs of letting up, so I walked. Voted with my feet, so to speak. This latest news is more depressing only because it's proof that the same type of sexist hack is writing these characters today.

Rebooting characters after you kill them is worse in my opinion, because it shows that the character is only a cash cow to them, and death and rape are "merely" battery and abuse. Next year Barda will be back telling Scott she "walked into a door". Disgusting.

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